An occasional glimpse into the workings of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive (or comments on anything else that takes my fancy).

11 July 2013

How not to win a referendum

It's not difficult. Tell the Scots that, unless they do what the Ministry of Defence tells them, part of Scotland will be commandeered as UK territory. The Guardianreports:

The British government is examining plans to designate the Scottish militarybase that houses the Trident nuclear deterrent as sovereign United Kingdom territory if the people of Scotland vote for independence in next year's referendum.

In a move that sparked an angry reaction from the SNP, which vowed to rid Scotland of nuclear weapons as quickly as possible after a yes vote, the government is looking at ensuring that the Faslane base on Gare Loch in Argyll and Bute could have the same status as the British sovereign military bases in Cyprus.

The move would be designed to ensure that the Trident fleet would continue to have access to the open seas via the Firth of Clyde. Under Britain's "continuous at sea deterrent", at least one Vanguard submarine armed with 16 Trident nuclear missiles is on patrol at sea at any one time.

After all, Scotland is only an English colony (like Cyprus was); and London has the right to dictate the terms under which that colony may gain its independence. I don't suppose that it occurred to the Ministry of Defence that such an attitude might drive the Scots into the arms of the SNP.